Military Affairs

Chinese Ambassador to the USA, Minister Li Kexin, has told US lawmakers that proposed visits by US warships to Taiwan would violate the anti-secession law of China, and that the date of the first US warship’s arrival in Kaohsiung Harbor is the day China liberates Taiwan by force. Li told an audience of Chinese students and expatriates invited to a lecture in Washington DC, December 8, that he had made China’s position clear to US legislators after the US Congress

[Photo: Ministry of Defense. Picture for illustrative purposes and not related to today’s incident.] Taiwan’s Air Force scrambled F-16 fighter jets to monitor a PLA Xian H-6 bomber aircraft as it approached Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone south of Point Eluanbi this morning. The Air Force stressed that there was no conflict between the two sides. However, civilian radio operators picked up a verbal exchange between the Chinese and Taiwanese pilots. When the Taiwanese fighter pilot requested the bomber pilot

[Picture: Ministry of Defense.] Taiwan’s navy and air force today are continuing the search for a pilot who went down in the ocean 60 nautical miles north of Pengjia Islet yesterday evening. Search and rescue operations were launched after contact with the Mirage 2000 was lost at 6:43pm, November 7. The aircraft was piloted by 28 year-old Captain Ho Tzu-yu (何子雨) of the 499th Tactical Fighter Wing, and was on a routine night flying training mission at the time. Air

A mobile Patriot 3 missile launching platform was involved in a car accident this morning in Xindian (Hsintien) District, New Taipei City. Nobody was hurt in the accident. According to Chinese language media reports, the military vehicle was taking a turn at around 10:10pm when it approached the bend at the wrong angle. When the driver backed up to correct his turn, the trailer hit a civilian car stopped behind the vehicle. The PAC-3 missiles were not damaged in the

A navy Keelung-class destroyer collided with a fishing boat in Suao Port this morning, while in the port of Kaohsiung another Keelung-class destroyer was hit by a chemical tanker trying to berth at the port. At the Port of Suao in Ilan County, shortly before 8:00am, navy destroyer DDG-1801 hit a fishing vessel from behind as both were underway. The fishing boat captain, Wang Shingshen (王興盛) accused the warship of traveling too quickly. The fishing boat had a crew of

In the lead up to an event to be held by the Ministry of Defense July 8, parachutists landed in the square of Chiang Kai Chek Memorial Hall this morning. Weather permitting, parachutists will make the same drop July 5,6,7 and 8. The parachutists belonging to the Army Shenlong Squadron leaped from a CH-47 helicopter at 4,500 feet to practice a precision landing to be made during a national high school drill team contest to be held on Saturday. The

The US Senate Armed Services Committee has passed the National Defense Authorization Act for the fiscal year 2018, which includes provisions for the reestablishment of regular ports of call by the US Navy at Kaohsiung and other suitable ports in Taiwan. The committee voted unanimously 27-0 to pass the act, according United States Senate Armed Services Committee website. Wall Street Journal and other media outlets are reporting the committee voted 21-6, but agree the bill received bipartisan support. The NDAA

Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee today said that plans by American Institute in Taiwan to station Marines to guard its new compound in Neihu District, Taipei City was legal under international diplomatic conventions. The Minister was responding to a question raised by DPP legislator Tsai, Shih-Ying (蔡適應) in the Legislative Yuan. Tsai asked whether it would be legal for the AIT to station American troops in its compound, and if so, would it be legal for those troops to

A Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-15 fighter aircraft lost a tire while taking off at Naha Airport today, causing the runway to be blocked for more than two hours. At least 60 civilian flights and 3,800 passengers were affected by the incident. One of four F-15s had to abort take-off at around 1:20pm when a tire peeled off the front wheel, leaving the fighter stranded on the airport’s single runway. The aircraft was removed after repairs shortly after 3:00pm. In

[Picture: ROC Marine Corps] 99th Marine Brigade ‘Iron Force’ set out this morning, December 14, on a 250km loaded march that will take 5 days to complete. The military has dubbed the exercise “Iron Legs”. Along the way, troops will engage in live fire exercises including machine gun, grenade, and mortar fire. At times, the soldiers will be marching at night, and over various types of terrain. The exercise aims to strengthen the physical endurance, courage, and confidence of troops,

An unmanned aerial vehicle belonging to an Army Special Air tactical reconnaissance battalion went missing, around Jhuci Township in Chiayi County, yesterday, October 27. Operators lost contact with the vehicle during a routine training mission at around 4:00pm, while it was flying over mountainous terrain. The army have called off further operations of the drones, while they search for the missing aircraft. The UAV is a “Sharp Kite” class surveillance drone, developed in Taiwan at National Chungshan Institute of Science